Try this SIMPLE FIX for your sticky L4 switch

Don't take it apart - just twist the big battery spring until the parts automatically align themselves from the outside.

My L4 switch worked perfectly from the factory, but curiosity "forced" me to take it apart just to see how it worked. Of course, it didn't work so well when I put it back together. After several attempts at reassembling it, I just twisted the big battery spring. I could feel the parts align, and I could hear a faint snap as everything came together correctly inside. That is all I did.

The thing that caused me to consider such a simple solution was that I figured the time it would take to assemble such a delicate device, with several small, loose fitting parts, would be prohibitive. So, there had to be a technique whereby someone could quickly throw the parts together as fast as they could, and then do something externally to align everything. The big battery spring is the only thing that you can access from the outside after everything is assembled.

I figure that the same people that left out the gaskets also didn't know the final alignment step to assemble the switch. Oh well, this is a simple thing that anyone can do without special tools. It worked for me.

Please let me know if this works for you.

Hope this helps someone!
Chuck /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

hmm...I don't really got it, so I just "turn" the spring on the switch(the one that makes contact to the battery) until the magic spot that will make the switch smooth?

Chuck,

I've already contacted SF for a new tailcap because mine was so hard to activate. I tried twisting the spring but all I got was this horrible metallic twisty, sproingy sound. Didn't fix the tough clicking.

I think it worked for you because during the reassembly you introduced some sort of misalignment in an otherwise correctly operating switch.

There is still probably something fundamentally defective with the tough clickers.

Wilkey

My spring doesn't seem to be able to rotate. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

My switch has always been pretty good but I just went to check it out anyway. I twisted on the spring and immediately
felt a small internal click; I couldn't tell if the spring rotated or not. To my fingers the spring resistance is the same but then it was already pretty good. However, my wife can now activate the switch with her thumb, where as before she could not. This tells me that something has definately changed. I suspect that my switch was already lined up almost right and now everything is correct. Thanks Chuck!

It did not seem to help me either, Ginseng's observation makes sense, but you've got nothing to lose by giving it a try.

I was afraid this was too simple. I wonder if it makes a difference which direction you twist the spring? I'm sure you have tried it both ways.

It could be that one of the two internal springs is askew so that it would have to be disassembled first, but then, that shoots down my simple-fix idea. Oh well.../ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif...I tried.

I'm glad to hear that it helped some people. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Chuck

I'd also have to agree with Wilkey's assessment. I don't want to discount anyone's positive results in trying it though. Give it a try, what do you have to lose?

I also believe that there is a fundamental defect in the stiff clickies. I have detailed this defect in another thread an offered a simple and inexpensive fix that seems to work 100% so far. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Peter

The spring assembly twists somewhat stiffly. I grabbed the lower two coils with my needlenose and worked it almost 360 degrees in both directions. While it seemed to rotate more smoothly in one direction, I think that might be due to the pointed end of an internal spring digging into the switch wall in one direction of rotation.

I agree that you have nothing to lose in trying. Although if the second tailcap does not turn out to function correctly, I will strongly consider sending one out to LitFuse for work.

BTW Chuck, how did you disassemble the switch?

Wilkey

When I first tried to rotate the spring CW, it would not budge. Then I twisted it CCW with just my fingers and it gave a little. Now I can turn it CCW easily.

I thought, at one point, that the switch became looser, but I think that was my imagination. If there is any difference, it's very tiny.

I must conclude that twisting does nothing.

Paul

my switch worked very stiffly, so i used a pair of snap-ring pliars(with the large straight bits) to remove the locking ring that holds the switch together. push up on the battery spring, to remove the guts whole. remove rubber push button cover and set it aside. this should be disassembled over white paper towells on a well lit surface for best results. hold spring with one hand while grasping plunger assembly with other hand. hold switch unit horizontally and SLOWLY pull halves apart. lay battery spring end piece down. the part left in your hand should consist of: a very small coiled spring that fits inside of a flanged metal tube. behind the flange is a short odd looking spring, THEN a SMALL metal WASHER. try to keep these pieces in order, but remove them from the plastic plunger assembly. the rest of the pieces left in your hand come apart easily and these pieces are what i greased liberally with silicone grease. i also greased the center pin inside of the battery spring end piece. the one that the coiled spring inside of the flanged metal tube fits over. reassemble switch making sure to grease both ends of the short odd spring and the small washer. i also put a little dob of grease on the end of the plunger that the rubber boot covers(the part you push on to operate the light). it's easy to get everything back together by working horizontally with parts assembly. my switch works with only half as much force now and is much quieter. YMMV i had originally tried spraying a teflon oil product through the small holes on the inside of the tailcap assembly to lube the switch, that didn't work at all. lots of luck, dave

I'm reading all this "fix my sticky L4 switch" info in a couple different threads...that's not my point. The point is that SureFire put out a switch that wasn't properly engineered or tested by quality control!

I've got two. One is fine, the other is one of the stiff ones. I'm probably going to send it back...haven't decided but it ticks me off to pay that much money for a torch and then have problems such as this.

It doesn't seem to be just one or two here or there...seems alot of folks are experienceing this problem...now I have to pack it up, take a trip to the post office, pay shipping and wait for it to come back to me. Thanks alot SureFire! This may be my last one! Indeed I feel they owe us something!

[ QUOTE ]
Ginseng said:
BTW Chuck, how did you disassemble the switch?

Wilkey

[/ QUOTE ]

Wilkey,

I used a small needle-nose pliers. The jaws of the pliers are rounded rather than flat. I think they are intended to be used to coil wire. I bought them from Sears.

My method was to grasp the tail switch right at the knocks of the ring so that I could prevent the needles from sliding off. It came loose very easily - no thread-locker.

Chuck

[ QUOTE ]
linearintigrator said:
my switch worked very stiffly, so i used a pair of snap-ring pliars(with the large straight bits) to remove the locking ring that holds the switch together. push up on the battery spring, to remove the guts whole. remove rubber push button cover and set it aside. this should be disassembled over white paper towells on a well lit surface for best results. hold spring with one hand while grasping plunger assembly with other hand. hold switch unit horizontally and SLOWLY pull halves apart. lay battery spring end piece down. the part left in your hand should consist of: a very small coiled spring that fits inside of a flanged metal tube. behind the flange is a short odd looking spring, THEN a SMALL metal WASHER. try to keep these pieces in order, but remove them from the plastic plunger assembly. the rest of the pieces left in your hand come apart easily and these pieces are what i greased liberally with silicone grease. i also greased the center pin inside of the battery spring end piece. the one that the coiled spring inside of the flanged metal tube fits over. reassemble switch making sure to grease both ends of the short odd spring and the small washer. i also put a little dob of grease on the end of the plunger that the rubber boot covers(the part you push on to operate the light). it's easy to get everything back together by working horizontally with parts assembly. my switch works with only half as much force now and is much quieter. YMMV i had originally tried spraying a teflon oil product through the small holes on the inside of the tailcap assembly to lube the switch, that didn't work at all. lots of luck, dave

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the very detailed step by step, linearintigrator. However, in my experience, the lube fix yields mixed results. Some of the Z57s were improved somewhat while others were not. Lubrication doesn't directly address the defect of the switch, which is a tolerance/clearance issue. By comparison, the washer mod has yielded dramatic improvement in all cases, even with no additional lubrication. Take yours apart again and add the washer, you will be amazed by the results!


Peter